Our last post, “Eartag Questions Answered” has generated a lot of comments, so we have done even more research into the subject. We talked to Bill Stiver, who is now the Chief Wildlife Biologist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He reiterated what Kim Delozier (his predecessor in the position) had told us.  Bill stated that Park bears are always tagged, and are always given 2 tags plus a lip tattoo, with the same I.D. number on each tag and the tattoo.  This is for identification only, as we explained in the previous post.  There is NO significance to the tags.  The fact that Rose only has one tag simply means that she lost one.  Either it didn’t crimp properly when applied, or she managed to lose it herself, which happens quite often.  The ease of loss, in fact, is why the lip tattoo is also used; it is a permanent mark that can’t be dislodged.  Bill also emphasized that in GSMNP bear management, they do NOT have a “3 strikes, you’re out” system, where a 3rd incident results in the death of the bear.  He said some bears may be handled as many as 10 times, and others only once or twice.  They base the decision on the behavior of the individual bear as well as the type of incident.  So for our 2 bears, Rose has lost an eartag somehow, while her sister Loretta had held on to both of hers. 

We, too, have heard of the “3 strikes”  plan for working with bears and other wildlife, and we believe that this does occur in some areas, particularly in the western part of the U.S.  But we have it on very good authority that it is not the method used here in the southeast.

We appreciate your comments regarding a post, and whenever we are asked a question that we can’t answer, you can be assured that we will go to a reliable source to obtain the answer for you.  Keep those comments and questions coming!

On another subject, a few days ago we posted a photo of Little Bit, and someone commented on her long tongue.  Here is another photo that really shows how long that tongue is!  Bears do have very long (and sticky) tongues – the better to get at ants, termites, and larvae or to extract seeds and other small morsels from tight spaces.  They can’t quite compete with anteaters, but certainly have similar equipment.